Marijuana? There's going to be an App for that Fairfield man develops mobile link for growers, users

The most straightforward way for those using medical marijuana is to grow the plant themselves.

Fairfield real estate investor David Kling says, however, that option is not always possible.

So, Kling -- a 38-year-old self-described business-minded man who has a love of efficiency -- plans to offer the next best thing: marijuana direct from grower to buyer.

"I'm a real estate investor, and as a businessman, there are (mobile) apps that I depend on for my business that are oriented toward real estate, specifically foreclosures," said Kling during a recent interview at his home office.

"So, really, what I did, was I molded this app kind of after the business apps that I use for real estate, and just applied it to the medical marijuana industry, because I think that there's a serious void there."

To that end, Kling is in the final stages of launching a smart phone program on the iTunes store in coming weeks. The "Ganjavous" app would allow growers to post photos and prices for their medical marijuana, and utilize phones' GPS to connect with nearby users.

"It's like 'rendezvous,' " Kling said, explaining the app's name. "It's a scheduled time and place where people meet for cannabis."

All about efficiency

The idea behind the subscription-based product is not unlike current websites and apps in that it helps users zero in on the nearest medical marijuana supply. Where it differs, Kling says, is that it removes the middleman of medical marijuana dispensaries.

"If a guy that lives a block away from me is driving all the way to Vallejo to get his meds that they're buying from a (grower) like me who lives a block away from him, in Fairfield ...," said Kling, a medical marijuana patient who said he suffers from severe migraines. "It's just about efficiency.

"If the grower can figure out how to have their medicine reach the consumer directly, it's beneficial to both of them, because they'll be able to recover more reasonable costs for what they're doing, and the patient can donate less," Kling added.

The Ganjavous app, kept under tight wraps until recently, did not yet have any users lined up to help ensure it was immediately beneficial to customers. Kling and app creators Brian Espinosa and Brad Norman said they may try to lower the impact of the app's growing pains by offering free subscriptions initially.

Following his vision, Kling said he has spent the last year and some $15,000 working with Web and mobile app developers to create his product. Though iTunes has given the app an initial green-light, its actual launch is still an estimated one to two months before final approval is likely, said app designer Espinosa, cofounder of the Walnut Creek-based reCyph creative digital and software agency.

In the meantime, interested users can check out www.ganjavous.com to sign up for beta testing and updates, Espinosa said.

Legality

While soon available to anyone with access to iTunes, and eventually other smart phone stores, the app will be designed with an eye toward California laws regarding medical marijuana use. However, how verification of a doctor's recommendation and other California Proposition 215 mandates are carried out ultimately will be in the hands of the app's users, Kling said.

Kling, however, said he believes that while in 1996, smart phone apps were a long way off, the close-knit grower-to-buyer relationships he is proposing are more what legislatures had in mind than marijuana "superstores."

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano, a Vallejo resident, said he was not surprised to hear of the creation of an app like Ganjavous. NORML is dedicated to reforming marijuana laws.

"There is a significant market of people that want access to this product. There is a significant market of people who are out there willing to provide the public with access to this product," Armentano said. "And, undoubtedly, we are seeing more and more that there are entrepreneurs out there that are willing to use emerging technology, that are trying to find a way to better connect the public with the providers and find a way to monazite that process."

The idea behind Ganjavous seems to Armentano as merely a technological reflection of exchanges already taking place, but with added convenience. Armentano said he doubts this app will spike already ongoing person-to-person activity.

"Regardless of the status of marijuana in California, cannabis remains illegal. The providers of cannabis, because of the drug's illegality and the risk of punishment if one is caught engaging in the activity, have, for decades, led to a largely underground market in an underground culture," Armentano said. "Whether those that prefer to keep their activities out of public view would have the preference to make their activities known through some sort of emerging technology like this application, I think, remains to be seen."

Element of danger

Kling acknowledges that it is difficult to protect users from those who wish to take advantage of the app. However, in an effort to curb problems, subscribers will be required to provide some personally identifying information to subscribe to the app. Also, each grower and user's profile will offer space for others to rate them and leave public reviews.

"(Because of user subscriptions), we believe that adds a level of some security, because you know that the person you're dealing with is a real person with a real phone account," Kling said.